PRODUCT REVIEW
Parallels 4.0 Bridges OS Universes

Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac became available recently. If you live mostly in one computing environment but need access to life on another operating system, say hello to a product that could well become your new BFF (best friend forever).

This latest release marks the fourth generation of Parallels' hypervisor-based desktop virtualization program. This enables users to run Windows, Linux and other operating systems side-by-side with Mac OS X.

Given a choice between Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) own Boot Camp dual-boot solution, Parallels Desktop 4.0 is the clear better choice. Boot Camp requires users to fully shut down the Mac and do a full OS start-up to access an application available on another platform. Not so with Parallels Desktop for Mac. Instead, users can run any installed application on another platform in a window within the Mac OS without sacrificing the usability, security and functionality of the Mac.

What Is It?

Parallels Desktop for Mac runs as a guest operating system in a completely isolated, independent virtual machine. The guest OS performs exactly as it would on a standalone computer. Each virtual machine works with its own processor, RAM (random access memory), floppy and CD drives, I/O devices, keyboard, mouse, and hard disk as if it were its own physical computer.

Parallels Desktop is powered by a new adaptive hypervisor. This is a thin layer of software that sits directly between the virtual machine and the host computer's hardware and primary operating system. The hypervisor controls critical hardware resources and automatically adapts to allocate resources to the guest or host operating system as needed.

Parallels said its focus on version 4.0 was to scale down the software's resource demands and give it a smaller footprint on the Mac's RAM. It also includes new features such as a Modality view, a screenshot sharing tool called "Clips," and support for voice commands.

Newer Technology

Parallels Desktop 4.0 runs 50 percent faster than previous versions and consumes 15 to 30 percent less CPU resources, according to the company.

I couldn't confirm these claims as I did not run any benchmark comparisons. However, I can vouch for the impressive speed of both Windows XP and Windows Vista on a MacBook running a single Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) Core 2 Duo 1.83 Ghz processor with 2 MB of installed RAM.

This latest Parallels release with its optimized virtualization engine is powered by Intel VT-x2 and on-demand para-virtualization technologies that increase the performance and responsiveness of applications running on the guest OS.

Users can increase the processing power available by configuring the virtual machine to run across all available cores. The new adaptive hypervisor engine adapts to how the Mac is being used. It reclaims resources after processes end, according to the company.

What You Need

Parallels Desktop runs on any Intel-based Mac with a processor of 1.66 GHz or greater. To run 64-bit operating systems in virtual machines, an Intel Core 2 or later processor is required.

The Mac computer needs a minimum of 1 GB of memory, but 2 GB of memory is recommended. Plus, the Mac must have enough memory to run Mac OS X with its own applications, along with the memory required for the virtual machine's operating system and the applications installed in it.

The Parallels installation requires about 450 MB of disk space on the boot volume and about 15 GB of disk space for each virtual machine. Also, the Mac must be running one of two Mac operating systems. You need Mac OS X 10.4.11 Tiger, Mac OS X 10.5.2 Leopard or higher.

A Few Good Views

Parallels Desktop 4.0 offers four view modes. It boots in the Coherence mode. This shows Windows applications as native Mac applications. Windows applications and the Windows start menu appear in the Mac Dock with Windows Taskbar notification icons visible on the Mac Menu Bar. Clicking activates them.

For Windows or Linux users who don't want their OSes intermingling that much, the preferred mode might be the Full Screen option. This mode displays the guest OS as if it were native -- it's all you see. You appear to have a dedicated Linux or Windows computer rather than a Mac sharing its screen with a Windows application.

Probably the preferred choice for Mac users who simply want access to a Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) or Linux application is the Window view mode. This enables users to see the guest OS as a window on top of the Mac desktop.

The last option, the new Modality View Mode, lets users set the size and transparency of the guest OS window. This view scales to fit the window to display the complete environment rather than a section of it. This allows users to easily monitor the activity in a virtual machine running in the background.

Playing the Options

Since I frequently work on a variety of Windows-based computers, I keep several must-have apps on an 8 GB flash drive that runs U3 apps. This gives me access to files, calendar features and other programs I use all the time.

When I inserted the USB drive into the MacBook, I could choose between installing the external device to the Mac OS or to the guest OS. Since I wanted to run the Windows apps from the U3 menu on the USB drive, I selected the latter option. But it wouldn't fully install on the Windows Vista virtual machine. This happened on my standalone Windows Vista laptop as well, but never on my preferred Windows XP computers.

Rather than fiddle with the security settings, I closed Vista and opened a Windows XP virtual machine. In less than 30 seconds, I had full access to all of my work-related applications on the USB drive. Everything ran fine in the Windows XP window on the MacBook desktop.

Sharing Data

It makes good user sense to have this latest version of Parallels provide a seamless method to share data from one platform environment to another running process. That is precisely what the Clips feature does.

Clips enables users to share screen captures between operating systems as well as copy data to the clipboard. The procedure is quick and simple.

On the Virtual Machine menu at the top of the screen, select the Make Clip option. The mouse pointer changes to a crosshair (as with the Mac screen capture tool Grab). Select the portion of the screen you wish to capture. Then right click on the clip to save the data to the desktop or copy it to the clipboard.

This feature came to good use while I was writing this review. Rather than swivel from my desktop Windows computer to the MacBook as I put Parallels through its paces, I simply worked completely from the MacBook. I could write in my preferred word processor, access files and take screen shots with a Mac app, and then transfer them to my Windows-based work programs. I didn't have to install anything. I could do all of this seamlessly with both the Mac and Windows platforms in view on one computer screen.

Final Say

Say good-bye to importing and exporting file formats or transferring data over the Internet or via barely-compatible storage media. Parallels Desktop 4.0 is clearly a better way to work if you have to live in more than one computing world.

For US$79.99, Parallels Desktop 4.0 is an ideal solution for anyone who doesn't want to be locked into one operating system. It is also a much less costly option to buying multiple computers to run Apple, Linux or Microsoft programs.